** MIND NUMBING EXPERIENCES OF BEING WITH THE CYCLONE VICTIMS(Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar)

Report on Vegetable Seed and Emergency Dry Food Distribution Program by the Central Disaster

Management Committee and THPB

The Central Disaster Management Committee headed by the eminent economist and social activist Prof. Dr.Muzaffar Ahmed, Friya Ano Bangladesh, The Hunger Project- Bangladesh and local pooled their joint efforts in order to distribute vegetable seeds, water purifying tablets, or-saline (oral re-hydration saline) and dry food among the flood affected people. The distribution was made by the local animators with assistance from the elected public representatives from Aug 2 to Oct 5 of the year 2007. Officials from the local administration including the Deputy Commissioner and UNO, Chairmen and members of UPs falling within the affected zone were also present at the time of distribution. Target people (Farmers) representing 30,000 households spread over a wide area comprising 124 unions under 86 upazilas of 28 districts got seeds. Each household was given a small packet containing six improved varieties of vegetable seeds.

The seeds thus distributed turned out to be of high germination percentage (80-90%) that raised the spirit of the poor households.

To get maximum yield from the seeds they made use of the intercultural management technique. Just as usual, women exclusively undertook the job of land preparation, digging of pits, seed sowing , watering, fencing, thinning, gap-filling, organic maturing, pest control and disease management etc.

On the other hand dry food was distributed among 3000 families whose dwelling houses went under water and who took shelter in improvised shacks built along either side of unsubmerged highways, rail-roads and embankments. They also took with them their domestic animals. These animals were kept huddled in make-shift sheds built alongside their owners' shanties but in most cases the displaced people preferred to share their dwelling places with their domestic animals in order to ward off the menace of lurking cattle-lifting.

Monitoring:

 During the distribution of seeds guideline for the cultivation process of selected vegetables was given to the staff and volunteers of the Hunger Project so that they could share their expertise with the farmers to ensure maximum yield. Moreover, the farmers kept in touch with the field staff with a view to sorting out any problem that might crop up during the growing season.

At first the Hunger Project staff and volunteers surveyed the flood-affected locality to ascertain people's condition and their most pressing needs. The survey being over, they organized into groups those flood-affected people and distributed among them 3000 packets, each packet containing seven items viz. fattened rice, sugar, two matchboxes, two candles, one packet of cookies (biscuits), five packets of saline and ten water purifying tablets.

Purchase and distribution of these materials was entrusted to local committees, formed by our volunteers and each consisting of 20 members drawn from among the affected people.

Impacts:

At individual household level: Vitamin and mineral rich leafy vegetables like red amaranth (all shack), spinach (paling shack) and radish (mule shack) that grew from the seeds distributed under the program helped the recipients regain the nutritional level lost during the lingering flood period which forced them to reduce their daily intake of food to a mere starvation diet.

The vegetable growing process in which all the beneficiary families took part pre-empted their need for seeking outdoor jobs for quite some time. In view of the post-flood erratic job market, especially for the rural work force, this kind of engagement mitigated to some extent the hardships arising out of joblessness. Even after their own consumption, there remained quite a sizeable surplus of vegetables like sweet gourd etc. which they could sell in the market and earn some extra money with which to beat off job scarcity in the upcoming months.

At Social Level:

Consumption of vegetables grown from the supplied seeds largely met the nutritional requirements of the recipients who were enabled to use their physical labor in a more productive way. This also brought further improvement in the relationship already existing between the local people, our animators and the Hunger Project staff and volunteers.

At family level: They could overcome the damage caused by the flood and get the required nutrition from the vegetables produced by them. They also supplemented their income by selling their produce.

During the flood the affected households were forced to go without cooked food. The dry food distributed by our volunteers helped them face the crisis with determination.

Dry food also benefited greatly the young children and the older people who, for obvious reasons, could not venture out in search of foodstuff.

The flood-affected people also benefited from the saline and the water purifying tablets because of widespread outbreak of diarrhea and other waterborne diseases. Given the paucity of medical facilities that occur during such crisis period, these life saving items greatly alleviated the suffering of the affected people.

Conclusion:

 Following the most effective management of the post-flood situation by our volunteers and regular staff members of the Hunger Project, our target groups braced themselves to face the challenges of full-fledged rehabilitation. Enhancement of self esteem was another feature of our flood management program. Farmers, landless laborers, share-croppers, weavers, fishermen and scores of people engaged in various other occupations become very much fatalistic when they face natural disasters like flood, cyclone, tidal bore etc. As required by the guiding principles of the Hunger Project, Our volunteers and other staff members make it a sacred duty to unleash the inner strength of every person and thus facilitate him or her to surmount all hurdles that may stand in the way. Our successfully completed post-flood rehabilitation program bears ample testimony to this fact. Being further emboldened by our success we hope to translate into action any number of commitments that may be entrusted to us in future.

N.B:- Phiriye Ano Bangladesh (PAB), Spandan B, local Organization, local Person with join The Hunger Project (THP)  for emergency action.